The Purr-fect Proposal
by RicardianScholar Clark-Weasley
Summary: Adrien wanted to have the perfect, traditional, romantic proposal known to man...the problem? Adrien's bad luck is constantly getting in the way. Will Adrien ever be able to pop the question?


Adrien shifted nervously outside of the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

Rationally he knew he shouldn't be so nervous. After all both Tom and Sabine had made it perfectly clear that they liked him and enjoyed his company and were more than welcoming each time he had visited….but he wasn't being rational right now.

Mostly because he had never been to the Dupain-Cheng bakery with the intention to ask for Marinette's hand in marriage.

Yes, that's right. _Marriage_.

He wanted to ask the most beautiful, brave, compassionate, kind, funny, clever, woman in all existence to marry him. He had known from the day collided into him mid-air and got them tangled up together with her yoyo that she was the one for him, (Okay this might be an exaggeration but it really wasn't _that long_ after that he fell hard for her and then over the course of time he just fell in love with her again, and again, and again…..he was doomed to keep falling in love with her.) and now it was time to actually follow through.

And being the traditional cat he was, he wanted to have the permission and blessing of her parents before he actually proposed.

And that was why he was fidgeting anxiously outside the best bakery (in his humble and non-biased opinion) of Paris.

Adrien took a great deep breath, gathered all of his courage, and exhaled slowly before he reached out and grabbed the door handle. Quickly he pushed the door open and stepped in before his courage evaporated along with the air he expelled mere seconds ago.

"Adrien!" Sabine cried out cheerfully as she hurried out from behind the counter. "Come in! Come in!" Adrien stammered as Sabine pulled him into a bone-crunching hug. "Are you hungry? Do you want a croissant? A cake? I can whip you up some lunch if you like?"

"Erm no….no that's all right," Adrien murmured feeling very flustered, "thank you…I…erm….came to ask you and Mr Dupain a question."

"Tom," Sabine corrected him, "you have been dating our daughter for years, Adrien. You have the right to call us Sabine and Tom, in fact," she added with a sly smile, "you could call us Mum and Dad."

Adrien choked on his saliva as his face went beetroot red in embarrassment. _Did she know…?_

Sabin's eyes sparkled mischievously just as Marinette's does when she's teasing Adrien and Tom grinned widely.

"So," he boomed loudly, "you have a question."

"Wha…. _yes_!" Adrien squeaked. "I, erm, you see, was wondering…" he sheepishly scratched the back of his neck as he felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment. "Well, would, I mean, can I, erm…."

"Its okay, Adrien," Sabine smiled encouragingly, "you can ask us _anything_."

" _Anything at all_ ," Tom agreed cheerily, "we're here for you, son."

There was a moment of awkward silence as Adrien squirmed a little under the matching bright blue gazes of Marinette's parents. " _I want to marry your daughter_!" he blurted out, unable to contain himself anymore.

There is a pause as both Tom and Sabine blinked at that. Adrien held his breath as he feared the worst but then their surprise melted away into great, big, ecstatic grins.

"That's wonderful!" Sabine exclaimed.

"I'm glad to hear it," Tom added, "but shouldn't you be telling _Marinette_ that."

"Yes," Adrien blushed, "but I wanted to ask your permission first."

"Granted!" Sabine replied immediately.

"Take her," Tom added, "it's about time. We've been waiting for this day for years."

"… _huh?_!" Adrien squeaked.

Tom and Sabine exchanged smiles before they both stepped up and pulled Adrien into the same three-way embrace they usually gave Marinette. Adrien instantly relaxed into the comforting hug as he suddenly felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders.

"Welcome to the family," Sabine said softly, "Adrien."

"We're glad to have you," Tom added, "now then," he grinned as they all pulled away and Adrien hastily wiped away a stray tear before he ruined the good feeling in the room, "have you decided on how you're going to propose?"

"Erm," Adrien smiled sheepishly, "…no, not yet," he admitted, "I wanted to do something super romantic but I haven't quite decided _what_."

Tom and Sabine exchanged another telepathic glance before their faces split into wide grins once again.

"Tell me, son," Tom slung an arm round Adrien's shoulders, "has Marinette ever told you how I proposed to Sabine?"

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The following evening was a pleasant and warm and therefore perfect for an evening stroll followed by an ice cream cone. The fact that the sun was setting and therefore casting a beautiful glow over the city and Marinette had one arm slipped through the crook of Adrien's elbow made the evening all the more perfect.

Adrien felt a whole range of emotions about the moment.

It was the moment that was going to change the rest of their lives and hopefully for the better.

The slight doubt that said that Marinette would say _no_ utterly terrified him and made him jittery and nervous as he could easily picture his Lady swinging out of his life forever. Yet he was eagerly ecstatic at the thought of Marinette saying _yes_ , and how beautiful she would look on their wedding day, and how many children they would have, and –

He jumped slightly when he felt Marinette rest her head against his shoulder. "What are you thinking about, Kitty?" she murmured huskily. Her beautiful, big, blue eyes shone brightly up at him as the sweetest, softest, smile graced her face. "You're not still feeling guilty are you?"

Adrien flushed at the reminder that this was the same ice cream place that he had stood her up so many years ago when he was young and stupid. The fact he now recently learnt this was the ice cream stand had been something significant in her parents' love story re-opened and added to the guilt.

He was hoping that proposing in the same manner of what Marinette obviously believed to be the most romantic story ever would finally close a door on that particular bout of stupidity.

"Silly Kitty," Marinette grinned as she took his silence as a yes, "we've been through this. You have nothing to feel guilty about… _anymore_ ," she added teasingly, "now finish up your ice cream before it melts."

Adrien realised with mild horror that Marinette had almost finished her own ice cream cone while he was still only half-way through his own cone. It would make a messy and awkward proposal if Adrien dripped ice cream all over Marinette's hand.

Hastily Adrien gobbled on the rest of his ice cream before it was too late. The brain freeze burned but it was nothing compared to the suddenly hard lump in his throat as he began to choke and splutter.

" _Oh my God_!" Marinette cried out horrified. "Adrien! You're _choking_!"

Adrien flapped his arms wildly as he tried to gesture while the lump continued to strangle him from the inside out. Marinette's eyes flashed with her usual Ladybug determination as she moved swiftly behind him (her ice cream cone promptly abandoned on the floor) and wrapped her arms just beneath his chest. With one big heave she managed to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre so forcefully that the lump flew out of Adrien's throat and sailed right across the bridge until –

 _Plop!_

"Oh my God!" Marinette repeated as she rushed round to face Adrien. Her face was pale with fear and her hands were shaky as she reached out and cupped Adrien's face. Her blue eyes bore into his as she searched for any damage " _Are you all right_?!"

"Yeah…." Adrien replied numbly.

"What was _that_?!" Marinette asked almost hysterically. "Some sort of freak ice chip?!"

"Must be," Adrien said weakly. He was able to drag his eyes away from the Seine long enough to see the tears of distress that gathered in Marinette's eyes and instantly wanted to smack himself for being an oblivious moron. "Hey," he murmured as he pulled Marinette into a bone-crunching embrace, "Its okay, _I'm_ okay," he said reassuringly as he stroked Marinette' hair. "Everything is okay."

He tried not to let his voice waver at that one as he thought in dismay of the expensive engagement ring that had now sunk into the depths of the river…

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Adrien decided on a very simple, but very romantic and traditional proposal for his second attempt. It _had to be_ a romantic and traditional proposal! For not only was it something Marinette deserved but it was a family tradition for proposals to be incredibly romantic.

As a little boy Adrien adored the story of how his father proposed.

It is hard to believe now that Gabriel Agreste was once the type to hire out an entire restaurant and have rose petals strewn and slip a ring in a champagne glass….but he had once been that sort of man, and according to the stories his mother had told his grandparents also had equally romantic proposal stories.

Adrien didn't want to be the one Agreste that failed to make a romantic proposal.

So in respect to Marinette's easily flustered state, Adrien hadn't hired out the entire restaurant, but he did book the best table out on a balcony in one of the most romantic restaurants in the city. He requested specifically for candles and fairy lights to be strung to enhance the atmosphere and hired a sole violinist to play in the background.

Marinette looked stunning in her latest evening wear design and the evening went smoothly as possible. He had complimented his Lady until she turned scarlet as the dress she was wearing, they had bantered and laughed together, the dinner had not yet tried to suffocate him, and there hadn't been any criminal activity to ruin their evening.

All Adrien had to do was wait for the Marinette to glance down into her glass and see his ring and say -

" **OH MY GOD**!" he heard a female voice behind him scream. " _YES_! A MILLION TIMES _**YES**_!"

Adrien almost fell out of his seat out of shock as he clutched his chest. Marinette, however, had leaped out of her chair and immediately fallen into a battle-ready stance as she looked around wildly. He would almost laugh at the sight if it wasn't for the fact he caught sight of the woman inside the restaurant waving her hand about for everyone to see the perfect princess cut ruby engagement ring….

….the exact same one that he had brought for Marinette.

The woman's date looked incredibly pale to the point of turning green as he stood there opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

Adrien came to the horrifying conclusion before the manager hastily appeared by his side. "I am so sorry, sir," the manager murmured hastily, "we had accidentally put the ring in the wrong glass. Please have a desert course on the house for such an awful mistake on our part. We do hope you'll come again."

Adrien was barely able to nod in response as he felt his stomach sink heavily at the sight of the ring that was supposed to be on Marinette's dainty finger sitting on some other's woman's hand.

It was rather sickening.

Marinette turned to look at him with a radiant smile which instantly fell off her face as she caught sight of his. "Adrien," she said worriedly, "are you all right? You've gone really pale."

"Yeah," Adrien tried to smile but it probably came out as a grimace as Marinette's concerned frown deepened, "I'm _feline_ fine, My Lady," he added for good measure, "could I tempt you with something sweet? I'm still rather _purr_ -eckish."

"Urgh!" Marinette rolled her eyes. "That's your worse one yet!"

But she smiled regardless and sat down happily to continue with their date. Adrien managed to salvage what was left of the evening and it led to a very enjoyable ending….

…but it didn't change the fact that he had to go out to buy another engagement ring the next day as he failed once again to pop the question.

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Having failed twice already, Adrien was really hoping that the third time would indeed be the charm.

Taking absolutely no risks this time round Adrien firmly kept hold of the ring in the palm of hand so that gem dug deeply into the leather of his gloves and left a rather deep dent. He had learnt his lesson now there was no way in hell he was going to put it in a drink or some food. He had no difficulty imaging if he tried that again Plagg would somehow end up swallowing the ring.

(Especially since Plagg kept suggesting Adrien should slip the ring in some camembert and offer it up as a gift to Marinette. An idea Adrien soundly shot down without hesitation. No one wants to tell their children that they proposed by shoving _stinky cheese_ in their bride to be's face.)

Instead Adrien decided a much more simple approach.

Instead of trying to recreate another's person's love story he was going to go back to the roots of their own love story. To the day he had first fallen in love with Marinette and to propose right there and then.

Which was far more romantic than trying to imitate her parents or his own.

So on the next Night Patrol which was, thankfully, uneventful he had no problem goading Ladybug into chasing him across the city and gleefully led her to the Eiffel Tower. He barely landed on the cool metal structure when Ladybug suddenly collided into him from behind as her arms fastened automatically round his waist.

"Got you!"

He _paw_ stively melted as he felt her warm breath tickle against his neck. "So you have," he leaned back to rest his head awkwardly on her shoulder and flash her a big, manic, grin, "and now you can claim your _purr_ -ize."

She kissed his lips lightly. "Such a flirty Kitty," she murmured teasingly, "what am I to do with you?"

 _Spend the rest of your life with me?_

Unfortunately Adrien's voice chose that exact moment to stop working properly as a pathetic mewling sound left his throat instead of the smooth, suave, proposal that was on the tip of his tongue. Marinette blinked at him, her big eyes wide and startled beneath her scarlet and black spotted mask, before she threw her head back and laughed delightedly.

"Did you just _mewl_?!" she asked giddily. Her eyes sparkled brightly with mirth. "Like an actual cat?"

" _No!_ " he denied quickly. "It was a cough," he lied poorly, "I needed to clear my throat."

"Sure, sure," Marinette said disbelievingly, "if you say so."

"I _do_ say so!" Adrien insisted as he felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. "It was a cough!"

"I believe you."

" _It is_!" Adrien persisted. Marinette merely smiled sweetly in reply which caused Adrien to inwardly groan. She didn't believe him for one second and she was so going to tell Alya about this which meant he will be teased till the end of time by Nino and Chloe before tomorrow was over. "A-a-ah, anyway," he mumbled self-consciously as he desperately tried to change the subject, "there's a reason why I brought you here."

"Oh?"

"Well you see," Adrien smiled softly, "nearly eight years ago just a few feet below from where we are standing you had just saved Chloe from being splattered on the ground, stood up to Hawk Moth like a total bad ass, saved Mylene, and purified your first Akuma, and totally stole my heart away all at once."

Marinette blushed as she gave him a small, shy, sweet smile.

"I said to myself that day whoever that girl is behind the mask, _I love her_ ," Adrien carried on. He had told her this before, many, many times, when he was being particularly gushy and romantic. She could probably quote him word to word at this point but it was something he had to say. "And during all those battles you continued to steal my breath away with your bravery and compassion and stubbornness. I was completely and utterly infatuated with you that I hadn't realised I had fallen in love with the girl behind the mask all over again until it was almost too late. You snuck into my heart as Marinette just as you blatantly stole it as Ladybug. You have no idea how happy and relieved I was to find out the two girls I loved most were one _incredible_ woman."

"Oh Adrien!" Marinette sniffled slightly. " _Chat Noir_!" she stressed. "I love you too!" she hastily dabbed at her eyes and smiled radiantly up at him. "What's brought this on, huh? You're extra soppy than usual."

"I want you to know how much I love you and want to be with you," he replied softly. He then carefully (as they were both balancing on one of the metal bars rather than standing in the safety of one of the actual floors) dropped down to one knee as he lifted up his hand as he held the ring precariously between two fingers. "My Lady would you – _**WHOA**_!"

It was, of course, then the pigeons suddenly shot up from the ground and flew right between the pair of them. They both lost their balance as Marinette suddenly threw out her yoyo and used it to swing herself back onto the bar and Adrien had his baton extended out to push himself back onto his feet.

His other hand flew up to cover his nose as he sneezed loud, hard, and repeatedly from the sudden contact of feathers.

With both hands preoccupied there was nothing left to hold onto the ring as it hurtled down to the floor without a second to spare.

He could barely make out the golden glimmer as it twinkled out of existence into the crowd of tourists and locals that were still hanging around the tower.

"NO!" Adrien bellowed out in dismay. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no-"

" _Adrien_!" Marinette cried out worriedly. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I, erm, lost my contact! Yeah, that's it, I lost one of my contact lenses!" Adrien lied hastily. "One of the pigeons knocked it out with its wing."

"But you don't wear con-"

Adrien leaped down to the ground with the help of his baton without a second thought and immediately threw himself down on his hands and knees as he desperately crawled round searching for the ring. It was extremely humiliating and was made even more so as people stopped to photograph him with his bum up in the air and his nose almost touching the pavement…

He doesn't find the engagement ring and the jeweller raises an eyebrow when he sheepishly slopes in the next day to purchase _**another**_ ring.

He might have to consider changing jewellers if this kept happening.

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So this time round Adrien was taking absolutely no chance with the engagement ring which meant it stayed safe and sound in its little black velvet box and the proposal was taking place at ground level.

Summer was almost entirely over now but it was still pleasant enough for a picnic in the park. After a long, hard, week of work there was nothing to better than to have a lazy afternoon in one another's company and good food. They feasted on a banquet of deliciously baked goods before they collapsed on the picnic blanket and snuggled up for a bit of cloud spotting.

It was all so perfect. Just to lay there with his Lady curled up in his arms as he got to twirl one of Marinette's pigtails round his fingers and nuzzle her forehead in contentment.

Then, just as he had planned it, an airplane flew over their heads. All of the children around them dropped their toys and pointed in the air as the plane moved artfully up and down to spell out the words that cost Adrien a fortune to get written down.

 _ **WILL**_ , the airplane wrote out in the sky, _**YOU MARRY**_ , Adrien turned round eagerly cutting off the last two words so he could see Marinette's reaction. He grinned at awestruck expression on her face, satisfied that he finally did this proposing thing right.

" _Oh_!" she breathed out. "That's so _romantic_! Whoever Mary is, she's very lucky."

Adrien blinked at that.

Erm…. _What?!_

Where was the screams of delight? The throwing herself into his arms and showering his face in kisses? The yes, he so desperately needed to hear?

Hastily he whipped his head back round to look up at the sky just in time to see the white, fluffy, words printed right there for all to see:

 _ **WILL YOU MARRY ME, MARY?**_

He groaned loudly as he covered his face with his hands. The moment now gone and his humiliation almost suffocating, Adrien left the engagement ring tucked in his back pocket as he laid back in despair and let Marinette's cheerful babble wash over him.

 _Blast his stupid handwriting!_

This, of course, becomes the beginning a horrific train wreck that was Adrien's attempt to propose.

The next few months flew by as every attempt Adrien made at proposing crashed and burned. _Literally_ in one case when he tried to spell out the words ' _will you marry me_?' in candles and accidentally set the living room curtains on fire (that had been fun trying to explain to both Marinette and the firemen, _not!_ ).

He had his proposals interrupted seventeen times by a crisis that required Ladybug and Chat Noir, he had managed to lose the ring another four times (though thankfully only around the house), and his most simple, romantic, attempt of slipping the ring on her finger as she slept resulted in Marinette accidentally slapping him so hard in her sleep that not only did he fall off the bed but the ring (as it turned out was much too big and needed resizing) flew off her finger and across the room.

His latest attempt resulted in another permanent loss of a ring as he had an ingenious idea of wrapping the box in a slightly bigger box, and that in a slightly bigger box, and then that in a slightly bigger box, and so on and so on, for Marinette to unwrap on Christmas morning.

The morning itself went well until Marinette reached the large box to reveal not another box but a gigantic stuffed bear. There had obviously been a mix-up at the gift wrapping store Adrien had taken the ring and idea to and now, weeks after the event, it was far too late for him to ever get the ring back.

(Somewhere out there a little girl was probably wearing and losing Marinette's engagement ring as Adrien tried not to weep bitter tears over it.)

Now New Year was dawning upon him and he was determined to not enter it as an unengaged man.

" _Urgh_!" Chloe rolled her eyes as Adrien poured his heart out and begged for her help. "Do you know what your problem is, Adri-kins? You over-think things _way too much_!"

" _I do not_!" Adrien protested. "I have you know that I'm way too reckless and impulsive for my own good."

" _Pfft!_ " Chloe snorted dismissively. "Only when your life is on the line anything else and you think yourself to death."

"I'm not asking for a criticism of my person," Adrien said stiffly, "I'm asking for your help to propose to Marinette."

"I'm not having the fireworks at my party to spell out your proposal," Chloe said flatly, "knowing your luck they'll set fire to my hotel roof. I've heard _all_ about the living room curtains."

"But _Chlo_ e!" Adrien pouted. "I need this to be a grand, romantic, proposal!"

"Whatever _for_?!" Chloe groused. "It's _Marinette_! You could be covered in slime, goo, and all sorts of other disgusting things and she will still say _yes_! Lord knows," she rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner, "that she's been gagging for you to propose since day one."

"That's not the point!" Adrien sulked. "The point is that our proposal ought to be one of the most magical stories we ever tell our children."

"Urgh, you _sap_!" Chloe groaned. "Do whatever you want but you're not using the fireworks at my party. I would never be able to explain it to the insurance people."

And with that heart-warming support of his so called childhood friend, Adrien attempted to make his proposal on the dance floor. Nino, who was way more supportive and helpful, took Adrien's love song request and made the dedication which everyone cooed and clapped for…

….only for Marinette to miss it entirely because she had been in the bathroom.

Adrien's attempts to lure Marinette away to some romantic spot on the balcony flopped abysmally as their friends kept interrupting and dragging one of them off for a dance or shots or a catch up.

Adrien tried again during the countdown, hoping that they would be the last words he utter that year, but that backfired as well.

"…NINE…..EIGHT….SEVEN…"

"Marinette, will you make me the happiest man," Adrien began loudly, "and make your New Year resolution to marry me?"

"….SIX…FIVE…FOUR…"

"… _What_?!" Marinette yelled as the crowd around them screamed out the countdown. " _I can't hear you_!"

"…THREE…TWO…."

" _I said_ ," Adrien shouted back, " _will you ma_ -"

"….ONE!" there was a loud squawk as everyone blew on their party horns. The noise was almost deafening as Adrien flinched and covered his ears. " **HAPPY NEW YEAR**!"

Chloe's perfect (lacking a marriage proposal) firework display went off and everyone around them started to hug or kiss one another. Adrien, himself, found his arms full of Marinette as she threw herself at him and kissed him deeply.

It was a brilliant, fierce, kiss that stole all of his breath away.

His proposal lost forever as he found himself dragged into the party mood. The alcohol buzzed happily in his veins as he danced, laughed, and celebrated the beginning of a whole New Year with his friends. Before he knew it he crashed into the bedroom door as he staggered under the full weight of Marinette

Marinette giggled tipsily as she planted wet, sloppy, kisses on his neck. "Mmm…" she hummed happily as she cupped his face and pulled him in for another, long, deep, kiss. " _Love you_!" she moaned into his mouth.

"Love you too!" he gasped out as he pressed another kiss on her intoxicating lips. "…So very much…" another kiss, and then another, and then one more just for luck, "…words cannot describe…"

"Then don't try!" Marinette practically whimpered. " _Show me_!"

She grinded her hips against his just in case he hadn't picked up on what she meant by showing her. Adrien felt his eyes roll back into his head as he groaned delightedly, he kissed her again before he all but threw her onto the bed. Marinette bounced around slightly as she giggled hysterically.

She fell silent when Adrien yanked his shirt off and her bright blue eyes darkened as they trailed up and down his torso. She licked her bottom lip with a slow deliberateness that was only used to tease him.

He didn't need any more invitation.

He dived on top of her an eagerly took her into his arms as he kissed her thoroughly. When the need to breathe interfered again he pulled away only to press his lips at the corner of her lips, and then a little further away, until he was pressing light, fluttery, kisses all over.

" _Marinette_!" He groaned out. "Marinette, Marinette, Marinette," he repeated between kisses, "Princess, My Lady, my love. I can't keep it to myself anymore. I've tried, tried, with my all I've tried planning a romantic proposal. The perfect one and it wasn't _working_. So I'm going to just blurt it out - _Will you marry me_?"

There was a pause, a brief moment of silence, and then it dragged out. It dragged and dragged until they were drowning in it. Adrien literally felt suffocated by the heavy silence that smothered both the hope and their out of his body.

"Marinette?" Adrien whispered. "Princess? Bugaboo? Please," he begged, " _answer me_!"

He reached and nudged her slightly on the shoulder.

"…Zzzzz!" Marinette snored in reply as she turned over and snuggled deeply into mattress. "Zzzz…."

Adrien's mouth dropped open in disbelieve.

Here he was pouring out his heart and soul to her and she had fallen asleep!

He doesn't know what was worse, the fact she fell asleep during his proposal or the fact she fell asleep during his foreplay.

They were both a huge blow to his ego!

(And caused Plagg to double over in hysterical laughter for days!)

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Adrien decided to wait until Valentine's Day for his next proposal.

It was clichéd as hell to propose on the holiday of love and it would certainly earn a bucket load of teasing from Marinette and their friends but Adrien honestly couldn't think of a better way to celebrate this holiday than to propose marriage to the woman he loved more than anything.

So he left work early to pick up dinner and desert already helpfully cooked by Sabine (because if Adrien cooked both he and Marinette would end up hospitalised with food poisoning which does not make a romantic atmosphere for proposing) and set up the atmosphere with candles (lit far away from the curtains this time!), rose petals, and Jagged Stone's most soulful, romantic, ballads played on a low volume.

Oh, and kept Plagg distracted with five wheels of the best camembert to prevent any sarcastic commentary from that corner.

Everything was prepared to perfection and as soon as the front door to their apartment rattled open, Adrien dropped to one knee and pulled out the ring box. Marinette slammed the door close behind her as she trembled. His heart immediately went out to her as he took in her chalky pale face and how she burrowed into her coat for warmth. It was rather brisk out.

He was sure though that his proposal would lead to activities that will warm her up though and therefore stayed steady on his path of action.

"Marinette," he said determinedly, "will you-"

" _Oh my God_!" Marinette gasped. "I'm going to be sick!"

Adrien's smile that started to blossom at Marinette's first reaction instantly faltered as Marinette hurtled pass him and threw herself into the bathroom. She barely made it to the toilet in time when she suddenly vomited violently.

Adrien grimaced as he followed after her – the engagement ring abandoned as his Princess' health was far more important than his stupid marriage proposal.

Marinette moaned pathetically against the white porcelain bowl of the toilet. Her fingers dug into the edge of the seat so tightly that they were a stark white themselves. "I'm sorry," she mumbled weakly, "there's been a bug going round work."

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Adrien said softly as he stroked her blue-black hair out of her face, "you can't help being sick."

"I've ruined your plans though," Marinette said sadly as she closed her eyes, "you must have had a really nice evening planned. You always do."

"It can wait," Adrien murmured as he pressed a reassuring kiss on Marinette's temple, "I'd much rather get you well again, Princess."

Marinette moaned again as Adrien took control and scooped her up in his arms. Once he had her tucked into bed with a bucket nearby just in case he set about clearing up his attempt for the romantic proposal.

The engagement ring was once again hidden in his sock drawer as he tried to ignore Plagg's sniggers and Marinette's retches.

The worst part was that they don't even get round to a second Valentine's Day as Adrien immediately came down with Marinette's bug as soon as she recovered.

He's certain that he was cursed.

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It surprised Adrien to come home to discover that Marinette set up the perfect romantic atmosphere.

Not that Marinette wasn't usually romantic. In fact despite all of her groans and grumblings about Adrien being the cheesiest and corniest clichéd romantic she was equally bad with the candlelit dinners and spontaneous romantic dates. It was just that Adrien usually jumped in first with a romance, he was like a romance _ninja_. Always the first one to strike with a romantic ambush.

So on the last day of February, just as it was about to warm up, it had surprised Adrien to walk in to find that Marinette had recreated the evening he tried to orchestrate on Valentine's Day. Every last detail from the candle arrangement to the last petal strewn on the floor was perfectly recreated.

To top it off Marinette was dressed in one of Adrien's favourite from their younger days. The green material was a little faded now but the black cats and umbrellas that covered it stood out vividly as a reminder of their own personal love story. The fact that the dress was a summer one and revealed a lot of her creamy, pale, skin also contributed to the dress being a favourite.

Adrien's mouth seemed to simultaneously dry up and water at the sight.

His voice was at a complete loss.

"I…you….wha…?"

Marinette smiled with a slow smugness. "Good evening, Kitty," she purred out very much like the cat that got the cream herself, "come and sit down."

He stood there dumbly unable to move and without hesitation Marinette slipped her hands through his and dragged him further into the living room. She pulled him down on the floor so they knelt facing one another, he could feel the warmth of her skin seep through his trousers as their knees brushed against one another.

He swallowed.

"I cannot remember a time where I haven't been in love with you in one shape or form," Marinette confessed softly. Her cheeks flushed a dusty pink as the smallest yet sweetest of smiles formed on her lips. "You were my first infatuation when I was a silly teenager, my first true and real love when I thought you were only a friend, and the only lover I ever plan to have. I loved you when I thought you were too perfect and couldn't speak to you, I loved you when I didn't know who you were apart from the sweetest guy and the best partner I could have, I loved you when I finally, truly, _knew_ you and I have never loved anyone more than I have loved you."

"Same here," Adrien croaked out, "there's no one I love more than you."

Marinette smiled radiantly at him as her eyes watered ever so slightly. "You are my best friend and my partner in every way and I cannot imagine a life without you," their hands were still clasped as she held them up and pressed a kiss on the knuckles of both of his hands, "I don't _want_ to imagine a life without you."

She then dropped his hands and shakily reached out to the coffee table and picked up a little box. She opened it to reveal the tackiest, most amazing, plastic ring Adrien had ever seen. It was scarlet red and covered in ladybug spots. He had seen dozens like it as part of the Ladybug Fan Merchandise and always wanted one.

The very sight of it made him laugh giddily with joy.

"So," Marinette breathed out, "will you do me the honour of becoming my husband?"

" _Yes_!" Adrien replied instantaneously. "A thousand times _yes!_ "

Marinette laughed delightedly though it turned into a sob of pure joy as she clumsily fumbled to put the ring on Adrien's finger. The fact that Adrien's hands were far more interested in sliding into her hair so he could tug her into a kiss didn't help matters at all but they were soon able to meet in a messy, happy, kiss as the red plastic ring shone brightly on Adrien's finger.

" _God_ ," Adrien muttered against Marinette's lips, "you have no idea how much I wanted to ask you to marry me."

"Oh," Marinette's eyes twinkled merrily. "I _know,_ " she grinned, "you didn't do a very good job at hiding the ring. And telling my parents was a big mistake, they've been dropping hints from the moment you left asking their permission. Chloe, Nino, and Alya also let it slip, and Plagg's a bit of a gossip when he wants to be." Adrien felt his cheeks heat up in humiliation at that. "I've been waiting for you to ask for _ages_!"

"You _knew_?!" Adrien cried out mortified. "Why didn't you say something before?"

"Well knowing you," Marinette said teasingly as she pressed a kiss against Adrien's palm, "you wanted the most traditionally romantic and clichéd proposal ever known to man." Adrien didn't comment. He didn't have to, she knew him far too well. "So," Marinette beamed, "that was exactly what I gave you!"

Adrien blinked at her bewilderedly which only served to make Marinette's smile all the more triumphant.

"Happy Leap Day, Kitty."

Adrien's eyes widened in realisation and then he let out a loud bubble of laughter before he grabbed hold of Marinette's face gently and pulled her in for a celebratory kiss.

He realised right there and then that the perfect proposal didn't matter…after all he had the perfect bride.


End file.
